Four Hands, The Drawings of Shag Exhibition

In July 2006 at Comic-Con in San Diego, Eloy RB (founder of Madrid Comics) invited Josh Agle to hold an exposition of his work in Spain to help celebrate their 25th anniversary. By October 2006 conversations were in progress with Pelayo47, a Madrid art gallery specializing in drawing and photography.

Instead of working in his familiar acrylic on tablex (a high-density fibreboard panel manufactured from eucalyptus with a smooth side and a rough side), Shag chose to create a body of work more fitting with Madrid Comics and the display space. The twenty-four images were drawn using black India ink with one flatly-rendered color on paper. The color is laid down first with special care to preserve the white of the paper; the ink lines are then drawn on.

The Four Hands: the drawings of Shag exhibition was held at Galería Pelayo47 from the 17th May to the 23rd May 2007 with Shag attending book signings on the 18th and 19th May. Josh Agle also contributed seven drawings at the Estampa contemporary art fair in Madrid several months later in 2007.

The Four Hands: the drawings of Shag showcard can be seen below:

The twenty-four drawings in the Four Hands: the drawings of Shag exhibition are shown below. The cost for each drawing was between $1200 USD to $1800 USD making it some of the most affordable Shag original art to own.

Untitled 1
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 2
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 3
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 4
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 5
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 6
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 7
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 8
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 9
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 10
Size: 28cm x 43cm

Untitled 11
Size: 28cm x 43cm

Untitled 12
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 13
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 14
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 15
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 16
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 17
Size: 55cm x 53cm

Untitled 18
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 19
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 20
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 21
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 22
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 23
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 24
Size: 30cm x 32cm

The additional seven drawings sent to the Estampa contemporary art fair in Madrid in 2007 were as follows:

Untitled 25
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 26
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 27
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 28
Size: 43cm x 33cm

Untitled 29
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 30
Size: 33cm x 43cm

Untitled 31
Size: 33cm x 43cm

In celebration of the two exhibitions, the Pelayo47 gallery produced an exhibition catalogue in July 2008 through Panamanian publisher Ediciones Balboa to showcase the pieces shown. The catalog was produced in a limited edition of 500 copies, measured 15cm by 15cm, and contained a total of 84 pages. With stiff colored paper covers, stitched binding and text in Spanish and English, the catalog booklet cost $17.50 Euros. Josh Agle’s work from both exhibitions are included in this booklet, with both a full image and a close-up of a detail – this is to mimic seeing the work in person. The book was printed during the summer of 2008 at the Infoprint workshops in Madrid.

A limited-edition three-colour serigraph print was created for the Four Hands: the drawings of Shag exhibition. Worry Birds was limited to a total of 99 copies, comprising of 33 in each color – orange, green, and purple. The print was sized 33cm x 56cm (13″ x 22″, and was made available exclusively from Madrid Comics.

Worry Birds – Orange
Size: 56cm x 33cm

Worry Birds – Green
Size: 56cm x 33cm

Worry Birds – Purple
Size: 56cm x 33cm

Many of the drawings from the two exhibitions reflect the themes or elements introduced in previous paintings, for example:

Four Drummers of the Apocalypse (2000)

Untitled 14

Cocktail Delivery (2002)

Untitled 8

Baron Vodkalov (2003)

Untitled 27

Toasty (2003)

Untitled 19

Hu-Hula 1 (2004)

Untitled 10

Hu-Hula 2 (2004)

Untitled 11

(X is for) X (2005)

Untitled 12

Some drawings were used in later years in paintings or re-drew/re-coloured, examples below.